Topic: S & C's Front Book Cover Art

[stooged and confused]

Here is the front cover for Volume One of my book that covers the 1950s and 1960s. There will be 127 artists covered with 157 full color and rare photos featured in this volume.

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[Benno1979]

Great!  I love books like this.  And I love how a certain comedy team appears on the cover, too!

[metaldams]

Here is the front cover for Volume One of my book that covers the 1950s and 1960s. There will be 127 artists covered with 157 full color and rare photos featured in this volume.

Who's this "Jeff Marcus" fellow, I though it was Stooged and Confused (for so long it's not true).  

Hey, congratulations, it looks great!

[Dunrobin]

Great!  I love books like this.  And I love how a certain comedy team appears on the cover, too!

Sonny and Cher?   



(J/K)   

[stooged and confused]

Thanks, then you will most certainly be in heaven with my books. Yes, the Stooges have their own entry in this volume and appear in the 70s and 80s when I discuss band behavior and show examples of the Jump N The Saddle Band sleeves for both the local release of  "The Curly Shuffle", featurung Curly on the jacket, as well as the national release, which was more generic in appearance.

[stooged and confused]

Thanks, Metaldams! I have a feeling that you will be this site's biggest fan of my project!

[stooged and confused]

Sonny and Cher?   



(J/K)   

Hey, Dunrobin...you know Sonny was sporting a mod version of Moe's rocking haircut, and their outfits were as goofy as some of the clothing the Stooges sported in several shorts.

[Hammond Eggar]

I, too, enjoy books like this.  Is this going to be a record price guide or more of a history of pop/rock and roll?  Either way, I'd be interested in picking up a copy.  Good luck with it.

[stooged and confused]

I, too, enjoy books like this.  Is this going to be a record price guide or more of a history of pop/rock and roll?  Either way, I'd be interested in picking up a copy.  Good luck with it.

I love these types of books as well, which is why I decided to take on this project. Love is the key word, for it has taken over 450 man hours just on my part to complete them and make sure that everything is as perfect as possible.

Anyway, to answer your questions, Hammond:

1) It will NOT be a record price guide as prices vary from dealer to dealer along with the grading condition. Supply and demand of the item accounts heavily in price. I do, however, institute a rarity scale that lets the reader know how common or rare an item is.

2) It IS a history of rock and pop music artists told in a conversational writing style as there are plenty of dry rock history books. I wanted this to be different from anything that has been put on the market, so in addition to history, the text contains lots of great information like chart peaks, unusual and/or controversial stories, dates, trivia, awesome "water cooler" tid bits, and so on. Everyone who has seen advanced pages has told me they found lots of things they never knew or saw before! I even gave a music trivia junkie friend of mine all of the pages to see. I wanted a fresh pair of eyes besides mine or the publisher's to check one more time for any uncaught typo errors. He told me that he read the entire thing in one sitting. He couldn't put it down!

I have illustrated the books with full color and complete images of 45 custom picture sleeves that you have probably never seen before! There have been lots of books showing album covers, so I saw NO point in doing something like that. Besides, that same LP art can still be found on CD covers, albeit shrunken down in size. Picture sleeves for singles had a small press run to accompany a 45 release and when they sold out, they never were issued again! There are over 350 artists covered with a minimum of 400 full color pictures! I still need to do a final count.

Books are going to press on Monday and I will have them ready to sell by the week of September 8.

[ProfessorStooge]

When will you hold book signing events?

[stooged and confused]

When will you hold book signing events?

Hi ProfessorStooge:

We are beginning the marketing plan, but it will be a few weeks before the publisher, the marketing man and myself will be able to finalize that. Once the books come back from being bound, we will have time to devote to the marketing strategy.

The publisher is sending me 300 books that I am required to sell (so I can get back the cost I had to contribute to doing a project of this magnitude). The copies he is sending me will include an extra title page after the cover to personally inscribe each copy that is purchased through me. It won't cost any more or less to get it from me, the publisher or the publisher's web store or the personal web site that is being created specifically for the two volumes. When they become available on Amazon, they dictate their own price structure, but I'd appreciate anyone helping my cause before Amazon's--I think they are doing pretty well and I need to at least recoup what I have into it before I see any profit from all of the work I did on these books.

Thanks to everyone who wished me well with this and is wanting to get my books. I appreciate all of the positive comments as they are nice to hear.

Feel free to ask me any further questions and I'll be happy to answer them!

[stooged and confused]

Final tally count:

Artists covered: 364

Full color sleeve photos: 432

[stooged and confused]

Here is the back cover art.

Books will be available beginning September 28

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[stooged and confused]

Both volumes are at the printer and are now ready for pre-sale. I will have books ready to ship by September 28. For those who want to order through me, just message me your order and shipping address. They will also be available through the publisher's book store and Amazon.

Here is the front and back cover art for Volume Two:

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[Hammond Eggar]

As a Brady Bunch fan, I was pleased to see the Barry Williams sleeve on the cover of volume 2.  Really groovy!  Good luck with your books.  Here's hoping you top the bestseller lists.

[stooged and confused]

As a Brady Bunch fan, I was pleased to see the Barry Williams sleeve on the cover of volume 2.  Really groovy!  Good luck with your books.  Here's hoping you top the bestseller lists.

Thanks, Hammond! There's something for everyone in them. I really am very pleased with how the books are formatted and my text and photos really make these performers come to life. It's been a lot of work, but it has been well worth it.

They are being printed now and covers are being laminated over the next 2 weeks. I am using that time to compile a list of media contacts to hit for promotion purposes. The publisher and I are in the process of preparing a media kit to send out.

I have asked the publisher to create sample pages that I can display here and on my Facebook page as well as the publisher's web site.

[Rich Finegan]

Hello Stooged & Confused Jeff:

Your book sounds great. Did you say that you were going to try to scan in some sample pages, in addition to the covers you've already shown us?

I'm also a big 45 collector with thousands of picture sleeves, so I'd like to see how the book looks.

I never actually set out to collect them particularly, but over many years of record collecting, I've acquired several thousand empty 45 picture sleeves (without the records). I wouldn't mind unloading them, if there's any market for them. Among them (and I have absolutely no memory of how, where, or why I got them) are 24 empty sleeves for the Turtles' "Sound Asleep" 45. Anybody have the 45 without the picture sleeve? Need one?

And these never fail to make me sick to look at them, but somewhere years ago I acquired about 450 empty picture sleeves from the 1950's to late 1960's that have holes torn in the centers, so that some moronic previous owner could see the record's labels, or probably use them as generic sleeves for any 45's. There are some great ones there...Beatles, Beach Boys, etc. - all in great shape...except for that hole!   

[stooged and confused]

Hello Stooged & Confused Jeff:

Your book sounds great. Did you say that you were going to try to scan in some sample pages, in addition to the covers you've already shown us?

I'm also a big 45 collector with thousands of picture sleeves, so I'd like to see how the book looks.

I never actually set out to collect them particularly, but over many years of record collecting, I've acquired several thousand empty 45 picture sleeves (without the records). I wouldn't mind unloading them, if there's any market for them. Among them (and I have absolutely no memory of how, where, or why I got them) are 24 empty sleeves for the Turtles' "Sound Asleep" 45. Anybody have the 45 without the picture sleeve? Need one?

And these never fail to make me sick to look at them, but somewhere years ago I acquired about 450 empty picture sleeves from the 1950's to late 1960's that have holes torn in the centers, so that some moronic previous owner could see the record's labels, or probably use them as generic sleeves for any 45's. There are some great ones there...Beatles, Beach Boys, etc. - all in great shape...except for that hole!   

Hey, Rich:

Yes, I will have sample pages from each decade. The publisher and his marketing people are working on it now. I will post them once I get the files from the publisher.

As for the sleeves you mention, I'm not sure, but if the hole is the size of a BB or puncher, that was common for cut out product. If it is the size of the label, then those sleeves would be virtually worthless. Even the BB size hole knocks value down considerably.

[Rich Finegan]

Hey, Rich:

As for the sleeves you mention, I'm not sure, but if the hole is the size of a BB or puncher, that was common for cut out product. If it is the size of the label, then those sleeves would be virtually worthless. Even the BB size hole knocks value down considerably.

No, unfortunately the holes are torn out the size of the labels. Some idiot really ruined them! So yes I've always known they're pretty worthless. But I've always kept them. I guess they still can be used as generic sleeves.

[stooged and confused]

Hi everyone:

The website for my books is now up and running. You can look inside both volumes with sample pages from all four decades covered. The site allows you to purchase the books on the secure site with credit card and paypal options.

Let me know what you think!

www.recordsleevebooks.com

Thanks to all who've been supportive regarding my project!

[stooged and confused]

Response to my books has been very positive. I am waiting for more reviews to come in but here are a few that have arrived.

Visit my site at www.recordsleevebooks.com and the new look inside page has 8 options to view and they load very quickly!


"These books are excellent! I had no idea Yvonne Elliman was on background vocals for "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Wonderful Tonight" - I'm learning lots of new stuff! Great job!"-Morris Ellington/University of Texas

"A magical mystery time capsule. The American Record Sleeves books are loaded with anecdotes, information and trivia about well known musicians along side those that time has forgotten"-Sonoran News

"A must for any music lover or pop culture enthusiast"-Chuck Welnack/C-V Vision

[stooged and confused]

Boy, was I pissed at paypal as they had the wrong shipping totals listed on my website buttons. I have since corrected them, so the shipping now reflects the proper amount for 2-3 day priority shipping. Just goes to show that if you want something done right, do it yourself!

1 book= $4.90
2 books= $10.70 (up to 6 books)

[stooged and confused]

"Have you ever wondered whatever happened to that lost art, the American 45 record sleeve? Well wonder no more. Check out this new book by Jeff Marcus for everything you ever wanted to know about record sleeves. Makes A GREAT GIFT for that record collector who has everything. Really rare stuff from the WMCA Beatles sleeve to Metallica and everyone in between. Lots of cool facts accompany these amazing record picture sleeves!"/Beverly Records- Chicago



"I LOVE the books and my Mom loves the set I got for her birthday. I forgot about many of the singers featured here and learned so many facts that I never knew before. One word describes these books-COOL!"/Crystal Barcello-Morgan Stanley Financial
 

[stooged and confused]

I am eagerly awaiting reviews from syndicated radio hosts and major music publications by the New Year.

I appreciate all of the well wishes from the members here who have been kind enough to respond and personally contact me. For those of you who ordered the books, I can't wait to get your feedback. I know you will just love them. And there are 5 Stooge sections/connections between both volumes.

[stooged and confused]

I just got a very nice testimonial from national radio host Dick Bartley regarding my books. A full color story will appear in next Sunday's ARIZONA REPUBLIC and an online digital version of the story will appear on their website with a slide show. I'm waiting for the GOLDMINE MAGAZINE review to be done in the next month.

"As a record collector from way back ("Surfin' USA" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" were my first two record purchases), it was a delight to come across these two excellent books by Jeff Marcus. "A History of Collectible American Record Sleeves, Volume 1 and Volume 2" vividly illustrate an era when a trip to the record store to check out the new 45's was a highlight of the week. Whether you're a 50's, 60's, 70's or 80's music fan, these picture sleeves are gonna blow your mind!"

Dick Bartley,
host and producer "Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits" and "The Classic Countdown"